Chocolate Mousse: Recipes, Questions

[KaffeeKlatsch]

this is my recipe

4# 8oz milk chocolate

16oz whole milk

3 sticks butter

24oz heavy cream

2tbsp gelatin

9c heavy cream

melt milk & butter, pour over chocolate, stir to combine

bloom gelatin in 16oz cream, melt & combine with chocolate mixture

whip 9c cream to soft/medium peaks then combine it all together (after its all properly cooled)

Just curious. When is the other 8 oz of cream added? You're whipping 9 cups and you're using 16 of the otheer 24 oz to bloom the gelatin. Is it added with the milk, or do you add it to the 16 oz after the gelatin is bloomed?

[QbanCrackr]

Just curious. When is the other 8 oz of cream added?

whoooops yeah thats part of the cream to bloom the gelatin in, don't know how that escaped me

[pastrygirl]

I think you could be overmixing it. The larger batch is going to take a few more strokes,

and if your cream is on the stiff side that could be enough to break it.

I'm skeptical about the scorched chocolate theory posted above. Anything is

possible, but since when does boiling liquid scorch chocolate? I have used boiling

Caramel sauce with a much higher heat capacity to melt chocolate and not

had problems.

You changed your method of making your ganache base, so now you need

To make sure your new method gets it to the same temperature. Agitating this

mixture at too cool a temp could cause it to break. And with the

bigger batch try whipping your cream a little softer so it will allow a little

more mixing.

Edited September 3, 2011 by pastrygirl (log)

[QbanCrackr]

I think you could be overmixing it. The larger batch is going to take a few more strokes,

and if your cream is on the stiff side that could be enough to break it.

yeah since its such a large volume, i use a whisk first to kind of bring it together then fold it all in, but even then its just so much

You changed your method of making your ganache base, so now you need

To make sure your new method gets it to the same temperature. Agitating this

mixture at too cool a temp could cause it to break. And with the

bigger batch try whipping your cream a little softer so it will allow a little

more mixing.

after adding the gelatin, i'd let the whole mixture come to room temperature, then add about 20-25% of the whipped cream to lighten the mixture, then fold in the rest...dump it in a plastic container and wait until the following day to see if it turned out ok

but i'm going to try whipping the cream softer when i make some today...thing is since its always a big hot in my kitchen, i whip it a little firmer so it holds up longer..or at least that was the idea

[mm84321]

Is it technically possible to "unset" a sabayon based chocolate mousse after it has already set in the refrigerator, in order to make it spreadable again and then allow it to "reset" in the fridge? Can I just temper it in a bain marie, or will that ruin the texture of the mousse?

[jmacnaughtan]

If you heat it you'll risk losing all of the air. Can you not just use it as is, or is it too firm? I've used a crème anglaise based mousse like this, so a sabayon-base might work as well.

[JohnT]

Hi All, this is my first post on the eG forums. I make pre-cooked frozen meals in Cape Town and have started adding some desserts to my menu. One I am struggling with is a chocolate mousse which tends to separate slightly (gets a bit mushy on the bottom) when defrosted. I am using an old recipe used for many years (but never before needing to freeze), consisting of:

6 large eggs, separated, whites whipped to hard peak stage

300 g Bournville chocolate, melted

500 ml cream, whipped to hard peak stage

Yolks mixed into the chocolate when slightly cooled then egg whites folded in followed by the cream folded in and refrigerated.

Any suggestions or pointers to a chocolate mousse recipe that will not separate when frozen and then defrosted?

John

[Shel_B]

What is Bournville chocolate? Is it a brand? A type of chocolate? What's the cocoa percentage?

[jmacnaughtan]

If you add a touch of gelatin, it should hold up better in the freezer. Try around 0.5% by weight, then adjust if necessary.

Also, you may be overwhipping your cream. Try whipping it just to soft peaks.

Edited February 23, 2014 by jmacnaughtan (log)

[JohnT]

@ Shel_B - I should have stated that Bournville Chocolate is a dark chocolate produced by Cadbury. It is high in cocoa solids and used a lot in cooking. They also produce Bournville Cocoa Powder. We have a limited choice of chocolate for cooking available in Southern Africa. Our main chocolate suppliers are Nesle and Cadbury but Nesle chocolate is pretty bad when heated to make a ganache, as it cristalises into a solid lump with even slight heat.

@ jmacnaughtan - Thanks for the gelatin idea. I was thinking along these lines as I did it with a non-baked cheesecake and it freezes well and defrosts extremely well and still holds up - tastes darn good! However, what I was thinking of doing was to whip it in with the cream as that is the last ingredient that gets folded into the bowl. I will give this a go during the week with a test batch and see if it holds the mousse together after defrosting.

John

[jmacnaughtan]

You might find it easier to heat the egg yolks to 40-50°C then incorporate the bloomed gelatin into them. It would lower the risk of the gelatin pre-setting or not mixing in properly.

Edited February 23, 2014 by jmacnaughtan (log)

[JohnT]

Thanks, that makes more sence and will give it a go. I will report back after doing a test batch.

John

[teonzo]

The main problem is given by the egg whites, you whip them at hard peaks and without making them stable (Italian meringue). You end up overwhipping and overmixing them while you mix your batters, in this way the whites separate a bit and you get the mushy effect.

Plus you have the troubles of using raw eggs (unless you pasteurize them or use already pasteurized eggs, but doesn't seem so if you talk about separating them).

I would try a simpler and quicker recipe, like this one:

350 g dark chocolate 70%

350 g cream

500 g cream

Make a ganache with the chocolate and the first amount of cream. If your chocolate has a different % then you need to re-balance the ganache,

Wait until the ganache cools to 35°C, then add the second amount of cream (whipped to soft peaks).

This mousse is stable and really easy to make.

When you make mousses and similars you always have to whip your stuff to soft peaks and not to hard peaks, this way it will be much easier to mix the batters and you will avoid overwhipping and overmixing troubles (mostly resulting in air/volume loss and separation).

Teo

[JohnT]

Hi Teo,

Thanks. However, I have done it your way and that is worse! I am not using it with any batter, but as a stand alone dessert chocolate mousse that I set in portions in the refrigerator and then freeze, once they have set. They are then defrosted in the refrigerator for the day they are needed. It is when defrosting the product that it separates slightly. If they are not frozen, I have no separation problems. But, they have to be frozen due to the business I am in!

John

Edited February 23, 2014 by JohnT (log)

[teonzo]

Then it seems that the problem lies in how you freeze and defrost them. There should be no need to let them set in the refrigerator before freezing them, you should try to put them immediately in the freezer. Pay attention on how you defrost them, if you get the same problem with 2 different recipes then it sounds more like a problem of condensation during defrosting.

Teo

[JohnT]

Test Results

A quick feed-back. I made a test batch of mousse on Monday, using the exact original recipe I posted at the start of the thread, except I added 8g of powdered gelatin, dissolved in 20ml hot water, to the egg yolks before mixing the yolks into the melted chocolate. I whipped the egg whites and folded into the mixture and then whipped the cream to soft peak stage and folded that into the mixture. Portioned it, chilled it, wrapped and labeled then froze. Defrosted a couple overnight and an excellent result - no separation and cannot detect any difference in mouth-feel.

Thanks to all that responded to my query.

John

[leonidas]

Hello everyone......  

I'm reading you for a long time like a visitor and i'm glad that i became a member at last...

 

Can anyone help me please with this chocolates strawberry and caramel flavour....???

I don't have any info about the chocolates because i bought them in bulk from a coffee shop...

free image hosting

 

I want to make two different mousse's,a strawberry mousse and a caramel mousse but without real strawberry's and caramel  in saucepan because flavour and colour is in the chocolate's already, correctly...????

 

Can anyone help me please with an idea or recipe..???

 

Thank you for your time and i'm sorry for my English,is not my native language....  :blush: